Journals and Posts

Michael B. 1779 and Jacob Brennan/
Branning B. 1792 were both lumberman
and farmers. They could not read or
write. They also had a sister Mary b. 1796.
Some histories state they
came from Newburgh, New York,
anywhere from 1800 to 1809. One
relatives writings suggest a
possible father as the William
Brennon listed in the 1790 Ulster
County New York NewburgTown
census as: one male, four males
under 16 and two females. If we
assume this lineage to be valid,
there are probably at least three
other brothers and another sister,
making a total of seven children (or
more) in the family, counting Jacob
(born 1779) and Mary (born 1796).
There are no childrens names
listed in the 1790 census, so
therefore no proof of the
relationship. (See Census excerpt
in Chapter 5.) (A possible son could
be the William Brannan, Jr. listed
as spouse of Lydia Hunt,
Montgomery Orange County, New
York in the will of her father Joseph
Hunt in 1807 -who is buried in
Berea Cemetery, Montgomery,
New York born September 1775,
died November 5, 1864).(15)

Other Brennan names in the
same time period and area that I
havent had time to research are:
Moses, Nathaniel, Paul, M., Peter
and Timothy. (There is also a
second William Brennan buried in
Berea Cemetery.)

A relative in 1987 writes it
is rumored that the first Brennan/
Branning settled on the Hudson
River in the late1600's and had ten
sons and was given land for
colonization by the English and lost
their land when the rebels won.
She further states another relative
feels the father and grand fathers
names were William also.

LINKS TO KILKENNY, IRELAND

The only place Ive seen the
name of a possible father
mentioned was a 1910 card that
many descendants scattered all
over the U.S. have inherited
showing the crest of our Irish
ancestry in Kilkenny, Ireland. The
card is co-authored by J. H. Brown-
Scheauyealle (1863-1927),
grandson of Michael Branning,
known to many at the time as the
family historian. The card reads:
Coat of Arms of the Brennans,
Brannans and Brannings, or more
correctly, OBrennans, descended
from Braenan, a son of Caerbhal,
King of Ossory, who died A.D. 887;
were lords of the ancient territory of
Ui Duach in Kilkenny. They
recovered their lands after the
Norman invasion and held them by
the strong right arm till they were
dispossessed by Christopher
Wandesford, A.D. 1637. Then the
clan became scattered and William
finally came and settled on the
Hudson river in America. Many of
the family still hold land in Kilkenny.
The present head of the clan is the
OBrennan, Eden Hall Kilkenny,
Ireland. J.H.Brown-Scheuyeaulle &
Allada M. Tearse.